Islwyn

Last updated
Islwyn
Islwyn au pays de Galles (1974-1996).svg
History
  Created1 April 1974
  Abolished31 March 1996
  Succeeded by Caerphilly County Borough
Status Borough
   HQ Pontllanfraith

The Borough of Islwyn was one of five local government districts of Gwent from 1974 to 1996. [1]

Contents

History

The borough was formed in 1974 as a local government district of Gwent. It covered the whole area of three former districts and part of a fourth, which were all abolished at the same time:

All the constituent parts of Islwyn had previously been in the administrative county of Monmouthshire prior to the reforms. Gwent County Council provided county-level services to the new borough. [2] [3]

The district's name (meaning "below the grove") was derived from the ancient parish of Mynyddislwyn which covered its area. This was shown in the borough's coat of arms which represented a mountain below a grove of oak trees. Islwyn was also the pen name of local poet William Thomas (1832–1878).

The borough was abolished in 1996, when its area became part of Caerphilly County Borough. [1]

Islwyn continues as a Westminster constituency and a Senedd constituency. The Westminster constituency's best-known MP was Neil Kinnock.

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council from 1974 until its abolition in 1996 was held by the following parties: [4]

Party in controlYears
Labour 1974–1976
No overall control 1976–1979
Labour 1979–1996

Premises

Pontllanfraith House: Council's headquarters, built 1977 Pontllanfraith House - geograph.org.uk - 2240025.jpg
Pontllanfraith House: Council's headquarters, built 1977

The council built itself a new headquarters in 1977 at Pontllanfraith House on Blackwood Road in Pontllanfraith. The building subsequently served as offices for Caerphilly County Borough Council until 2015 and has since been demolished. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

Abercarn is a small town and community in Caerphilly county borough, Wales. It is 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Newport on the A467 between Cwmcarn and Newbridge, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torfaen</span> County borough in Wales

Torfaen is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the city of Newport to the south, and the county boroughs of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the south-west and north-west. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire, and between 1974 and 1996 was a district of Gwent, until it was reconstituted as a principal area in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blaenau Gwent</span> County borough in Wales

Blaenau Gwent is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale and Tredegar. Its highest point is Coity Mountain at 1,896 feet (578 m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monmouthshire (historic)</span> Historic county in Wales

Monmouthshire, also known as the County of Monmouth, is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales and a former administrative county. It corresponds approximately to the present principal areas of Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Newport and Torfaen, and those parts of Caerphilly and Cardiff east of the Rhymney River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caerphilly County Borough</span> County borough in Wales

Caerphilly County Borough is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It is governed by Caerphilly County Borough Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monmouth (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1918 onwards

Monmouth is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The seat was created for the 1918 general election. Since 2005 the Member of Parliament (MP) has been David Davies of the Conservative Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackwood, Caerphilly</span> Human settlement in Wales

Blackwood is a town, community and an electoral ward on the Sirhowy River in the South Wales Valleys administered as part of Caerphilly County Borough. It is located within the historic county of Monmouthshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islwyn (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

Islwyn is a constituency in Wales represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The area, historically known for coal-mining, is a safe Labour Party seat which was once held by the party's former leader Neil Kinnock, who served as opposition leader for nearly a decade until 1992. The current Member of Parliament (MP) is Chris Evans, first elected at the 2010 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">District of Monmouth</span> Former district of Gwent, Wales

Monmouth District was one of five local government districts in the county of Gwent in Wales between 1974 and 1996. In 1988 the district was granted a charter conferring borough status, becoming the Borough of Monmouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taff-Ely</span> Former district of Mid Glamorgan, Wales

Taff-Ely was a local government district with borough status in Wales from 1974 to 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontllanfraith</span> Human settlement in Wales

Pontllanfraith is a large village and community located in the Sirhowy Valley in Caerphilly County Borough, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It is situated adjacent to the town of Blackwood, with the Sirhowy River passing through both locations. The village includes the communities of the Penllwyn, Springfield and The Bryn. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 8,552.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borough of Brecknock</span> Former district of Powys, Wales

The Borough of Brecknock was one of the three local government districts of the county of Powys, Wales from 1974 until 1996. It covered the majority of the former administrative county of Brecknockshire. The borough was abolished in 1996, with Powys County Council taking over its functions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">District of Rhymney Valley</span> Former district of Mid Glamorgan, Wales

Rhymney Valley was one of six local government districts in Mid Glamorgan from 1974 to 1996.

Mynyddislwyn was a civil parish and urban district in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It was abolished in local government reorganisation in 1974. It is named for the Mountain in its centre MynyddIslwyn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedwellty</span>

Bedwellty is a small village in Caerphilly County Borough in south Wales. The village stands on a ridge of high ground between the Rhymney and Sirhowy valleys. The village comprises a parish church, public house and a few houses. The ancient parish of Bedwellty lay in Monmouthshire and covered a large area. Several industrial and mining towns grew up within the parish boundary, including Ebbw Vale, Rhymney, and Tredegar. These gradually gained administrative independence from Bedwellty between the 1870s and 1890s. A Bedwellty Local Government District was established for the rest of the parish in 1891, becoming an urban district in 1894.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islwyn Borough Transport</span> Defunct Welsh bus operator

Islwyn Borough Transport was a Welsh bus operator providing services around Blackwood, Caerphilly, and surrounding towns in the former Borough of Islwyn between 1974 and 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwent (county)</span> Preserved county in south-east Wales

Gwent is a preserved county and former local government county in southeast Wales. A county of Gwent was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972; it was named after the ancient Kingdom of Gwent. The authority was a successor to both the administrative county of Monmouthshire and the county borough of Newport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gelligaer</span>

Gelligaer is a community in the County Borough of Caerphilly, Wales, in the Rhymney River valley. As well as the village of Gelligaer, the community also includes the small towns of Hengoed and Ystrad Mynach. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 18,408.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ynysddu</span> Human settlement in Wales

Ynysddu is a small village and community in the Sirhowy valley of south-east Wales. It is part of the district of Caerphilly within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It lies between to Cwmfelinfach and Wyllie, 4.3 miles (6.9 km) north of the town of Risca and 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the market town of Blackwood. It is about 10 minutes by road from the M4 motorway and 20 minutes from the Second Severn Crossing. The population in 2008 was 2,905, increasing to 3,948 at the 2011 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwent County Council</span>

Gwent County Council was the upper-tier local authority that governed the county of Gwent in South Wales from its creation in 1974 to its abolition in 1996. For most of its existence, the county council was based in Cwmbran.

References

  1. 1 2 "Gwent Archives Islwyn Borough Council Records". www.archiveswales.org.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  2. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 6 October 2022
  3. "The Districts in Wales (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1973/34, retrieved 4 October 2022
  4. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  5. "Pontllanfraith House Site Development Brief". Caerphilly County Borough Council. 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  6. "Caerphilly Council's Pontllanfraith House closure takes a step closer". Caerphilly Observer. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2022.

Coordinates: 51°38′N3°09′W / 51.64°N 3.15°W / 51.64; -3.15